Ever The Same
by KRRouse
Summary: Pintel helps Ragetti cope with life in prison after the curse. A songfic set to “Ever The Same” by Rob Thomas. Nonslash.


(Disclaimer: I do not own Pintel, Ragetti, or Pirates of the Caribbean.)

I also drew an illustration for this story. Check it out! (just ignore the spaces in the URL):

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 40218242/

I never thought in a million years that I would write a songfic, but as fate would have it, I just happened to hear this song on the radio recently, right around the time I was first becoming interested in "Pirates of the Caribbean." Long story short, it made me think of Pinters and Rags in jail, and (even though stories of that sort have become outdated thanks to DMC) I decided to throw this together. Call it an experimental piece. :)

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**Ever The Same**

He was whimpering again.

Pintel didn't even bother turning his head to follow the direction of the pathetic sound. He knew that it was the other man in his cell; a younger, emaciated figure with dirty blonde hair and hands that never stopped fidgeting. Ragetti was always whimpering these days.

"Wot's wrong now?" the older man asked him dully, mostly from habit.

There was a pause, and then the other sorrowfully replied, "It 'urts, Pinters."

Pintel frowned to himself. Pain—whether from the growing hunger, the cold wind, or the hard, stone walls and floors of their prison—was a feeling that the Black Pearl's entire former crew seemed to share now, himself included. Pintel had more or less come to accept these feelings, particularly hunger and cold, simply because they _were_ feelings. For ten years, the older pirate had been unable to experience either of these sensations, and the fact that he could do so now was just even more proof that he was no longer cursed. And that at least made him feel good, in a strange, unsettling way.

"Wot 'urts, Rags?" he asked finally.

Ragetti paused again for a long moment, then hugged himself miserably as he tried to warm his shivering arms. Tears were beginning to well up in his one good eye.

"…Everything," he managed to say, his throat already tightening. "Everything 'urts, Pinters. It never used to." He was sobbing his words now. "It never 'urt when we were cursed!"

This suddenly got Pintel's attention, and he immediately turned to stare in disbelief at the younger man. Rags couldn't have honestly meant what his words had implied. Could he?

Feeling the other's gaze fixed on him, Ragetti reluctantly lifted his head to meet Pintel's surprised eyes. The older pirate, his fear now confirmed, shook his head with sadness.

"Rags…" he scolded softly.

Ragetti felt a horrible wave of shame hit him just then, and he stifled another sob. Completely beyond words, he could do nothing more than hide his teary-eyed face, and turned his back to his only friend.

But Pintel continued to stare at him forlornly.

_We were drawn from the weeds  
We were brave like soldiers  
Falling down under the pale moonlight_

Even after a month in prison, he could still remember the events of their arrest as clearly as the night they'd happened. He remembered how those soldiers had dragged them bellow deck of the Dauntless, and he could still recall how Ragetti, bony hands locked in shackles, had kept a death grip on his arm the entire time.

_You were holding to me  
Like a someone broken  
And I couldn't tell you, but I'm telling you now_

Pintel sat in silence, listening to that broken whimpering, for one final second. And then, taking in a deep breath, he leaned over and reached out to the younger man.

_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart  
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down_

In one swift motion, he wrapped one arm around Ragetti's shoulders, grabbing hold of him from behind, and tugged the scrawny, trembling figure back to lean against his shoulder. Rags made a sharp little sound of confused protest, but soon gave in to the unexpected gesture when Pintel placed his other arm around him as well.

_Fall on me  
Tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

A minute passed, and they sat this way without exchanging a word. Feeling that he had a secure grip on his friend, Pintel allowed himself to lean back then and rest his heavy shoulders against the wall behind him. And as he did so, he moved his eyes from Ragetti to the rays of moonlight streaming through their barred cell window, and memories of their lives before the curse suddenly drifted into his thoughts.

_We would stand in the wind  
We were free like water  
Flowing down under the warmth of the sun_

He frowned to himself. That was a good life. That was the life they had hoped to return to once their curse was lifted, not this misery. Not this prisoner's life.

_Now it's cold and we're scared  
And we've both been shaken  
Hey, look at us, man  
This doesn't need to be the end_

Pintel looked back down at Ragetti again, watching as the quivering body shifted slightly in his embrace. Why couldn't they still feel that warmth and safety that they had before? What was keeping them from enjoying the same sensations from their previous lives? Nothing, of course. Just because they were locked away in here didn't mean they had to forget all of those good feelings.

_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart  
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down_

He didn't have to accept this bitter cold as a reward for ending the curse. And as long as he had a breath left in his body, he would make sure that Ragetti wouldn't have to accept it either.

_Fall on me  
Tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

_Call on me  
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me  
Forever it's you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

Ragetti tried to pull himself away from Pintel just then, as his embarrassment finally got the best of him again. But the older man only pulled his friend closer, tightening his arms further around his thin frame. There was no need to be ashamed.

_You may need me there  
To carry all your weight  
But you're no burden I assure_

Pintel smiled to himself just then. Ragetti's shivering had almost completely ceased; heat was finally returning to his thin frame, and in turn, he was giving off some of that newfound heat to his comforter. They were helping each other now.

_You tide me over  
With a warmth I'll not forget  
But I can only give you love_

They weren't going to escape from this prison. Pintel knew that deep down, even though he would never put the thought into actual words. He could do nothing to win back freedom for himself and Ragetti—he could only remind his younger mate that they still had each other. And somehow, he felt that that would be enough for them.

_Fall on me  
Tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

_Call on me  
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me  
Forever it's you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

Pintel tightened his embrace on Ragetti even further, trying to warm him just a little more and forever silence the last of the whimpering.

_Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

"Quit yer cryin', yeh fool," he murmured softly. "I'm right here."

_Ever the same_

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End file.
